Basic Airbrush Skills

[AirDave]

Here goes...I'm gonna take a chance here
and put up this info for Newbs and Pros alike
who seem to have forgotten (or never learned)
some of the basic airbrush painting skills.

Learn these skills (and master them) and you will
become a much better airbrush artist.

Practice, practice, practice
is all I can say.
Each one of these skills/drills
is learned only by repeating over and over again.
(until you can do first time everytime)

Remember "keep the air on"

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills/ Drills Prep

"Keep the Air on"
air is always flowing while paint is flowing or not, try to get used to it.

I recommend buying a pad of newsprint paper.
Makes a great practice pad.
Cheapest paper to buy.
Large 20x30 pad size.
Very absorbent, simulates textile painting aswell.
Beige paper colour allows you to work with all colours.

Loosen up!
Whether you like to paint standing or sitting,
stretch out your muscles before you start.
Many painters tense up while painting, causing cramps and muscle aches.
Try to work on a more relaxed and loose painting stance.
Move your entire body (if possible) while painting,
(not just your wrists and arms).

Moving around more freely also helps keep your airbrush
at the proper angle while painting.
The airbrush should always remain at right angles to the work surface,
for best coverage and effect and control.
Sometimes this rule may not apply if working with stencils/masks
or to exaggerate fades.

Print out the provided practice sheets or
use your airbrush to create quick practice grids.
(okay, you can also use a pen/pencil and a straight edge!)

[I will make the whole set of Practice Sheets available at the end of this thread,
in case you would like to print them.]

Lets go!

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills/ Drills 1

Stop - Start Practice

Create consistent, horizontal and vertical straight lines
within a designated area.
Learn to keep the airbrush moving and control your paint flow
only at the desired time.

When painting a straight line, your air is on, and your movement begins
well before the point at which you want to paint. Movement also continues
well past the point at which painting ends.

Try to paint in both directions (left to right, right to left).

Goals:
Maintain line consistency.
Maintain straight lines.
Control movement and spraying independently.
Learn how to keep moving.

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills / Drills 2

Paint control
Maintain paint flow control when painting lines and curves.

Use a grid pattern on your paper to control both
horizontal and vertical postioning.
Keep your air on, start moving your airbrush.
Control where you paint starts and stops.

Hold your airbrush close to the surface and begin painting straight lines.
Practice moving the trigger gently back and forth to produce an alternating
narrow and wide line.

Practice making loop lines, keeping the rounded shape and line thickness consistent.

Combine the two previous techniques to produce consistent loops,
this time varying the line width on upstroke and downstroke.
(This technique can be important when producing lettering)

Goals:
To produce consistent line thickness and control.
Control paint flow within a single movement.
Maintain position and placement of strokes.

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills / Drills 3

Targeting

Using graph paper or grids created on any paper,
target the intersections in the grid and spray simple dots.
Try different sizes,
but the goal is to spray a series of dots while maintaining a consistent
size and depth of colour.

Avoid "circle building" your dots,
aim...and spray, allowing your dots to "grow" on their own as you spray.

Keep your air on! while spraying a series of dots.

Practice makes perfect when it comes to accurate target spraying!

Goals:
Maintain air pressure and spray lines of dots.
Be consistent with size.
Be consistent with aim.
Try this skill using different air pressure settings
and at different distances from the work surface.

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills / Drills 4

Circle Control

This is another variation on line control and targeting.

This time, using a grid or graph paper,
spray consistent circles within the squares of the grid.
Trick is to draw perfect circles, in one fluid motion
and stay within the grid square.
You starting point accuracy is crucial here!

Try building the circle slowly, with multiple passes adding colour and strengthening the line until you achieve the circle you want.
Try to stay consistent with line thickness.

Try creating your circles clockwise and then counter clockwise.

Goals:
To maintain accuracy when positioning the circle.
To maintain line width and colour strength.

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills / Drills 5

Dagger Stroke

Possibly the most basic but important airbrush artists tool!
There is no "proper" dagger stroke, because they are altered to suit each individual need.
But the basic "dagger" or "rat-tail" is a tapered line of paint usually ending in a sharp point.

the "dagger" stroke is ideal for "sketching" with the airbrush, building sharp clean lines for lettering and illustration and is an ideal fill tool. During colour fill, it provides clean interlacing of strokes for consistent and precise colour fill.

Dagger strokes can be produced from "fat end" to taper or vive versa.
They can be produced from left to right and right to left.
Curved or arced daggers are extremely easy.

...try all these approaches!

Remember the skills learned with line consistency and control, and remember the lead in and follow through techniques when creating daggers.

By varying the distance between the airbrush and painting surface, you can vary the sharpness of the dagger stroke and the taper.
Start painting your line, and as you decrease your paint flow (to produce the taper) move the airbrush closer to the surface. This will produce a sharper, clearer line as it tapers to a point.

Remember the earlier line control practice, where you tapered the line in and out as you were painting?
You produced end to end "dagger" strokes!!

Goals:
Produce both right and left tapered "dagger" strokes.
Maintain line thickness and consistency when painting daggers.
Practice painting "daggers" from "fat end" to taper, and taper to "fat end".
See how the effect is altered when changing the distance between airbrush an surface.

[AirDave]

Airbrush Skills / Drills

Practice Demo Sheets

IF YOU DESIRE A SET OF THE PRACTICE SHEETS
(IN 8.5" X 11" SIZE)
FOR PRINTING AND/OR COPYING
JUST EMAIL ME AND I WILL SEND THEM TO YOU DIRECTLY.

Just click on my name (to the left)
and choose "Send email to AirDave"

[AirDave]

Originally posted by Steelhorse:
"Dave a ? Why keep the air on the whole time??? Dry-tip prevent? Splatter prevent? This is good info...keep it coming!!!! Thanks a bunch...Steel"


Thanks Steel...
"keep the air on!"
For me, thats the way I started airbrushing.
I felt it very natural to press the trigger before I started spraying and keep the air going, all the time. At least while my airbrush was in spraying position.

Over the years, I have heard and read from many pros, that this is the way to paint properly.

I believe it removes one of the controls, and allows you to focus more on your paint control. The air pressure is regulated by your regulator, once you press that trigger, air flow is out of your control (at the airbrush), so why not eliminate the need to worry about that control?
(Although. as you become more adept, you will find it possible to regulate air pressure by lifting off the trigger very carefully while you are spraying.)

The air always on approach (as well as the follow through technique) also helps you avoid the "dog bone" look to lines. You know, the fat,ball ends at the beginning and finish of a sprayed line. Keeping the air on and keeping your airbrush moving, helps create a fade in and/or taper effect to your lines and fill (similar to the dagger stroke effect)

Between you and me (we are the best whiners and complainers here!) we will keep everone else on their toes!!! LOL

[Steelhorse]

Yep!!!! Have had that effect that you call the "dog bone" Thanks Dave!!!

[blinddog 99]

Good to get back to basic practice, gonna run some today, thanks Dave! I can end my lines well, but have trouble getting a clean start.

[AirDave]

Steve
Don't move this thread!

By all means copy it to anywhere else you like!
but don't remove it completely from here.

???

[HotAir]

Awesome Dave,
Practice! Practice! Practice! is right!!! GR8 info... Aloha -HotAir-

[HotAir]

Awesome Dave,
Practice! Practice! Practice! GR8 info... Aloha -HotAir-

[moose]

Dave Thank you for posting this thread. I will be good practice for me but especially my daughter who in learning beside me!

Tim

[AirDave]

HotAir got so excited he posted twice!

[eliz]

Thank you for this information as
I'm new to all this airbrush art .

[HooiiooH]

Thanks for the skill training .

[mob33]

Now THATS an old thread!!
but,,,still a good one!